


House Of S

by Saintismanson



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alcohol, M/M, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Canon, Recreational Drug Use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-08-01 14:07:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16286036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saintismanson/pseuds/Saintismanson
Summary: One year after the war, Tony spots a young man smoking on the beach.





	1. High By The Beach

**Author's Note:**

> So, hi everyone, it's the first time for me posting on this website, even if I've been hanging around for a loooong time. 
> 
> I've been thinking about something like this for a long time and finally got into writing it. If you're familiar with the comic book House of M, I borrowed the general plot and fit it after Infinity War and made it into my own stuff. 
> 
> Sorry for the mistakes, english is not my first language! I try my best, I promise.
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy it !

It was a cool Californian morning, at the very end of the summer, when Tony he noticed the kid. It must have been seven am and he young man was already smoking what looked like a joint. He was sitting in the sand, wearing blue jeans and an oversized white sweater while looking at the ocean. There was something in this sight that made Tony slow down from his daily jogging and just look at the guy. His brown curls looked soft and pliant in the morning light and made the man want to touch them, to run a hand through them. A pale smoke, as pale as the kid’s skin, was steadily coming out of a red and pretty mouth. In another life, Tony would have talked to him, tried to make this young man laugh and maybe steal a drag or two. In another life, Tony would have flirted with this pretty boy, not caring about the fact that he looked too young, even if he was wearing a Stanford sweater. However, he was now a married man, long past were his crazy days. So he got back to his jogging, leaving the kid to get high all alone on the beach.

When he got back home inside of his mansion, he did his best not to wake his sleeping wife as he made his way toward the shower. Of course, he could have used any of the five other bathrooms in the mansion, but this one was his favorite, a place he felt safe. Even since the war against Thanos, he needed safe, known places more than he ever did. It helped him to avoid panic attacks that were way more violent than they used to be.

As he took off his clothes and asked FRIDAY to turn on the hot water in the shower, with his favorite settings, his mind kept drifting to the kid he saw not too far from his house, enjoying the calm of the morning beach. It was so peaceful, so soft that it left Tony all warm inside. This kind of feelings was unusual these days for the man, well if he was being honest with himself, any kind of feeling was unusual for him. Reverting the snap left him empty and hollow and like most people, he didn’t remember half of what happened after the snap. So seeing that boy, all alone, just admiring the landscape was such a wholesome picture. Tony got under the hot spray and let his muscles and mind relax. His showers became longer, day after day. Being alone for such a long time dragged him down in memory lane, in blood and missing memories, but it also helped him. Not seeing anyone who didn’t understand was soothing; everyone kept asking him why he looked so beat, why he didn’t make snarky remarks anymore, why, why, why.

With a sigh Tony closed his eyes, hard, trying to make the voices go away. It has been a year since the Avengers reversed the snap and he wasn’t getting better; it scared him. Especially now that he had everything he ever wanted; he was married with Pepper, they were expecting a child, he was definitely done with Iron Man because more capable people, gods really, took care of everything for earth. He should be happy and at peace with himself, but he was lacking something. It obsessed him, trying to find what was missing through deep shower introspections. The image of the boy flashed once again in his mind and everything clicked; maybe he should do the same.

Once he got out, Pepper was already up, waiting for her turn in the shower. She greeted him with a soft but worried smile. Everyone did these days. Long gone was the time when people side eyed him and rolled their eyes at his sight. Maybe it was because the smirk was forever gone from his face. Tony returned an empty smile and gently kissed her cheek. Pepper was glowing with life and happiness, everything she ever wanted came true. The hormones also helped.

“Instead of worrying because I finally look my age, go get ready. You’ll be late to run my company.”

“Did you buy all the shares just to remind me that legally you are my boss?” Pepper teased with a raised eyebrow.

Tony just shook his head and headed out of the bathroom. There started his typical day. With Pepper running the company and Shuri taking care of the Avengers’ gear and uniforms, the only thing that was left for him was to work on new sources of clean energy and trying to democratize nanotech. It wasn’t as thrilling as working on his armors, but it kept his mind occupied.

That day was a little peculiar because he received new message from Hank Pym, damn he really hated working with the man, but his ideas were sometimes brilliant. However, he didn’t have the strength to work. His workshop, that saw the birth for his second armor, the birth of Iron Man, didn’t hold as much attraction anymore. So instead of throwing himself into understanding Pym’s calculus, he told FIRDAY to shut everything up. Tony went back to his room, Pepper must be somewhere taking her breakfast. He had no desire to join her, first because he wasn’t hungry, really he wasn’t hungry much these days and second, to avoid any conversation with her.

The man laid down on his bed and put the covers all over himself, hiding away from the world. However, he couldn’t go to sleep; his mind buzzed too much and his heart beat heavily in his chest. Tony wasn’t in a pleasant state. So he decided to check out some feeds from the Avengers’ work and discussions that FRIDAY kept for him. A video started to play, recorded by uniform embedded cameras, with Captain Marvel, in all her glory fighting some kind of alien that suddenly changed form to look exactly like her. Tony’s heart started to beat faster, this didn’t sound good. It went even worse when Carol’s best friend, Jessica, arrived with some of these aliens, seemingly commanding them. A fight between Spider-Woman and Captain Marvel started on screen when Pepper called out for him. He pressed the pause button and got out from under the covers to wish her a good day.

“Hey, you’re looking a little pale? Are you alright?” She asked with a frown as she brought the back of her hand to Tony’s forehead.

“I think it’s this morning run… It’s getting chilly out there and I didn’t cover myself enough. I think I’m gonna spend the day in bed.” Tony sighed, faking tiredness.

Pepper nodded and pressed her lips against Tony’s, for a quick sweet kiss. The man responded half-heartedly and directly went back to his bed. Once Tony was back under the covers, he started the video where he stopped it moments ago, anguish creeping up on him. Jessica and Carol were fighting and the person whose costume was recording, went into battle; from the red trails Tony could discern, it was probably Wanda. Then the feed stopped. Tony played it again, asking a few question to FRIDAY about where it happened, when it happened, and how were the three women.

“This confrontation dates back to Monday from last week at 4 am UTC. It happened near the SHIELD space station. Carol Danvers and Wanda Maximoff came back both unharmed; the next clip, during the aftermath of the battle explains what happened. Jessica Drew never left earth according to my readings, while the impersonator is dead.” Friday explained.

Tony played the next video, it was a conversation between the two women. None of them was aware that he kept small drones embedded in their clothes that emitted signals to Friday every few hours. Then the AI analyzed the images, bringing him the most relevant ones; not to totally invade the Avengers’ privacy. 

Scarlet Witch was explaining that she somehow knew, a sort of strong intuition about this fake Jessica. Carol thanked her and congratulated her about her professionalism. The Captain was happy that she was back to her old self. Wanda let out a sigh and asked if she could talk to the other woman about something. Carol nodded, looking worried and asking what is it. Tony’s heart was beating hard and fast, sensing some big revelation coming and wishing he could see the redhead’s face, her expressions.

“I’m the only one who remember it plagues me.” She breathed out.

The feed stopped there. It sent cold shivers down Tony’s back, sending the man in a downward spiral of “whats” and interrogation about his own mind and how he doesn’t seem to remember somethings. A new excitation sized him whole as he thought about interrogating Wanda. However, he got these information in a totally illegal way that she wouldn’t approve of. Also, even after the war and the NATO’s pardon that followed, Wanda and he weren’t exactly on speaking terms.

With a sigh he shut his phone and threw it away, totally forgetting about the battle that just occurred. After all, they had Thor, Captain Marvel and Scarlet Witch, how could anything or anyone survive those three?

Tony closed his eyes, feeling suddenly tired and blank after the sudden rush of hope he felt. Sleep came easier than he thought. It was empty of any dream. When he woke up, he didn’t feel any more rested than before. In fact, he thought it might have been the most exhausting nap he ever took; his head felt heavy, blood was pumping into his ears and his stomach was constricted.

“FRIDAY open the windows, let some fresh air and light in” Tony asked.

 

Getting out of bed for the second time this day was even harder, especially when it was already three pm. Tony still didn’t want to do anything. So he did nothing so the rest of the day; only watching Avengers’ feed on the big TV in his favorite living room while eating a few handful of cereals. When FRIDAY announced that Pepper was heading home, he changed the program Getting out of bed for the second time this day was even harder, especially when it was already three pm. Tony still didn’t want to do anything. So he did nothing so the rest of the day; only watching Avengers’ feed on the big TV in his favorite living room while eating a few handful of cereals. When FRIDAY announced that Pepper was heading home, he changed the program for some new show he had zero interest on.

The night was calm and quite, Pepper talking about her day while they ate, at least she ate, some disgusting steamed vegetables. Tony barely responded or looked at her. She didn’t seem to care. His mind caught up the fact she was mentioning Happy a lot during their one-sided conversation but Tony didn’t care.  Maybe she was falling in love with another man, after an eleven years long relationship and he just didn’t care. The one thing he cared about was the baby. It was only two months old inside of her, but the man knew he would love it with so much force. It was the one thing that kept him going. Pepper waved a hand in front of his eyes, asking he was still there with her. 

Tony shook his head and send her smile.

« Sorry, I was just thinking about the baby. When will we know if it’s a boy or a girl? » 

« Probably in one month we’ll be able to know. Were you thinking about some names? » She asked with a tender smile.

« Hm maybe? The name Peter has been kinda popping inside my head for a boy and May for a girl ? » Tony proposed.

« I really don’t like any of those. Don’t you want something more unique ? » 

« As unique as Virginia? Our kid will probably end up as stuck up as you either way.» Tony spat, suddenly upset that his wife wouldn’t like his name propositions. 

Pepper threw him a cold look and got up from her chair. The sound of her high heels seemed to indicate she went into one of the guest bedrooms. Tony closed his eyes and let out a long breath. It has been a long time since they fought.


	2. The Blackest Days

Ever since everything came back to normal, Tony didn’t have a single drink of alcohol, but it seemed like it was the perfect night to crave back to his old demons. He went into the pantry to get a pack of foreign expensive beers. Tony went back to his bed with them and got himself drunk until he blacked out, while watching stolen videos of Steve, Bucky and Sam fighting the last regimes of terror across the world. The alcohol and images took his mind off his tormenting thoughts. After only four beers, he passed out.

The next morning was hard on him, his hangover kept getting worse with the years, but this was something new. After not drinking for so long, and not experiencing this kind of waking up, Tony wasn’t prepared. He asked the time to Friday and groaned when she answered with one pm. It’s been a long time since he over-slept. Maybe his body really needed that much sleep? At least, he thought, Pepper is gone for work. Without her around, the man decided to take a long bath, reading without much attention scientific articles. It wasn’t really keeping his interest. However, it was better than any other Medias because nobody mentioned the snap, because nobody remembered the snap, except for the ones who were in contact with the stones. Well, even those didn’t remember if for the most part. It drove Tony crazy.

Every time, he came back to this: to Thanos, to the stones, the snap. It’s been a year and it still plagues his mind, as if he didn’t finish something. However, everything was there to prove him the contrary. Tony felt frustrated once again and quickly got out of the bath.

The rest of the day went in a blur, with Tony walking around the mansion and trying to find something that would hold his interest for more than twenty minutes. Pepper didn’t come back this night and didn’t even bother to send a message. It was enough for the man to get drunk again. In the end, it was worth the hangover.

With a scotch in his hand, he observed the tormented ocean at the feet of his house. Remembering the kid from the day before, Tony decided to go for a walk and get wasted in front of the nature. He asked Friday to turn off all the lights in the mansion, so he could enjoy the view of the stars.

Once he was on the beach, just in front of the house, he peeked at the place where the kid was the last time, however, must to his disappointment nobody was sitting there. Tony sighed and watched the dark horizon, sipping on his drink. Sadly, the stars weren’t really shiny, some gray cloud was covering the black night sky. The sky that still fascinated him, especially since he visited some planets far away. Tony laid down in the cool sand, feeling it moving all around him, adjusting to his form, to look at the sky. His drunken mind tried to spot Titan, or at least its sun. Titan, or the planet where he almost died along with Strange. His mind was always trying to dismiss any thought about what happened on that planet; he probably must have suffered a big trauma. Maybe when the moon fell on him. However, at that moment, it only made his head hurt, so he got back inside: to take another drink and get more sleep.

Two drinks had been the perfect amount to leave him tipsy and sleepy, without having to deal with a hangover the next day. Tony congratulated himself as he woke up at six am, fresh enough to have his usual run. The man got ready fairly quickly and took his usual route on the concreate. These runs always helped him to clear his mind and sweat his anxiety.

When he reached half his course, he took the way back through the beach. Tony felt his heart accelerate even more as he approached the place where the kid was sitting the last time he ran. With Pepper gone, probably forever with the baby, Tony stopped in his tracks and sat next to the other.

The young man was wearing the same clothes, blue jeans, white sweater, but this time his feet were buried in the sand and the hood from his sweater was up, hiding his pretty curls. Once again, a joint was lighten up in his hand.

As Tony sat down next to him, the kid turned his head to look at the intruder. When he took the man in and understood that he wasn’t meaning any harm to the boy, he gently smile; his eyes were half closed and he showed all his teeth. Clearly the kid was already high. To Tony’s surprise, the other handed him his half-finished joint. What the hell, thought the man and took it between his fingers, careful not to touch the kid. It’s been a long time since he smoked anything, so the first drag made him caught, hard. It made the kid giggle next to him. Tony felt the corner of his mouth rise at the sound. The next one went into his lungs without any problems, and the next, and the next. Then he decided he needed to stop because he was already feeling the effects; his muscles were relaxing, his head felt lighter, a deep feeling of contentment was sizing his body. So he passed the remains to the kid, but this time, he let their fingers brush.

They sat in silence, listening to the sound of the waves and the joint burning away at each drag taken by the boy. It was the happiest Tony has been in a long time, his thoughts washed away by the peaceful nature. The sight was amazing too; the blue waves, reflecting the morning sky, creating shimmery mirages before washing away on the shores, leaving the sand dark and wet. Also, the smell of this water, mixed with the smell of the boy, who was sitting so close, yet too far for his liking. It smelled like home. Or at least, what Tony wanted home to smell like. 

As soon as the joint was finished, the kid raised to his feet and held out a hand for Tony to help him get up. Tony accepted it and got up. Once they were up, right in front of each other, observing the other carefully, they didn’t let go of the other’s hand.

For the first time the kid spoke.

“Peter”

“Tony”

They smiled at each other dopey smiles and finally went their way; Tony toward his mansion and Peter in the opposite direction.

Tony’s heart was beating was beating fast and his didn’t know if it was because of the smoke or because of Peter. When he thought about this one word spoken between them, he wanted to laugh. What were the chance that this pretty kid’s name was Peter, the one name he wanted for his own child. He got back to his mansion with a large smile on his face, of course he knew it probably was because of the drug, but a part of him knew it also had to do something with the boy.

However, his happiness was short lived. When he entered the living room, Rhodney, Pepper, Happy, Bruce and Natasha were waiting for him. It looked like an intervention and it probably was an intervention. Tony didn’t bother to greet anyone but Nat, who he kissed on the cheek and gently caressed her full stomach.

“How many is there? Four? Five?” Tony teased.

Natasha only rolled her eyes and smacked the back of his head. It felt like old times. Pepper wasn’t happy.

“So, is it a surprise party at 8 am or…?”

Rhodney was the one who made a step forward, his face dead serious. 

“We worry about you Tony… You’ve been absent these last months and we think… we think you should see a doctor.” Rhodney breathed out, looking into Tony’s eyes.

For some reason, these words seemed hilarious to Tony, who started to giggle, hard. The rest of the room was silent, disbelief and shock written on their faces. Their looks sent Tony into another fit of giggles.

“Can this be a symptom of depression?” Bruce asked.

“No. This is just Mr. Anthony Edward Stark totally high” Rhodney stated with stern look. “Last time I saw him like this was during our last year at MIT. What the fuck Tony?”

Tony shrugged and went to get himself a coke from the kitchen. Once he was there, he also reached for a pack of Cheetos in one of the cupboards. He hadn’t eaten any of those in years and it made him salivate. The others hadn’t budge from their place, staring at Tony.

Without as much as a glance for the little committee, Tony sat down on his couch and ripped into the orange snacks. They were the most delicious thing he ate in months. 

« We got you an appointment tomorrow with an excellent therapist, whose method might work best for you, your personality and what looks like your depression. » Pepper said, without much emotion in her voice. 

Tony glanced at her and smirked at the way she was standing close to Happy. Were they already fucking he wondered as he took a sip from his can. 

« Alright I’ll go if you leave me enjoy my high. You can yell at me all you want for smoking later. » 

Pepper was the first one to leave, turning her back to Tony, closely followed by Happy and Rhodney. Bruce and Nat lingered, exchanged a glance before waving at Tony and going. 

The man sighed with relief, finally he was alone and able to enjoy his delicious food and think about the kid. It was relaxing, thinking about the silent communion they had; how peaceful and magic it had been. 

Then, he fell asleep, right there, on the couch. 


	3. It catches up with you

Pepper didn’t come back yet; she probably was waiting for an apology. Tony wasn’t ready to give her one, he didn’t even want to see her. The evening that day was harsh; between meeting Peter and smoking, Tony was finally realizing how bad his state of mind was. These small moments felt like his best memories compared to the emptiness he was used to by now. So once again, he was spying on the Avengers’ missions, to take his mind off his tormenting thoughts, with a beer. 

Tony didn’t speak much to the team these days so he was always a little surprised to see some of the friendships that emerged, notably, Thor, Valkyrie, Loki and Strange. The Asguaridans took a liking of the doctor and often fought and plainly hung out together. The video he was watching was of this kind; Strange had been hurt during a battle against some extra-dimensional threat and Thor was there, helping the man up while Loki made some snarky remarque about not seeing that one coming Doctor. 

« I’m actually attempting to cut the time stone in half, to destroy one part so that nobody could use it to bring back the mind stone, but I could still keep protecting the multiverse with it. » Stephen Strange panted.

« That’s impossible. Especially for a wizard as weak as you are. » Loki responded with a smirk. 

The video stoped there. Tony wondered why Friday thought this was interesting or relevant at all for him. It made the man sight and turn off his phone.

« Hey Friday, do you have any info about the kid I was today at the beach? Peter? » He asked.

« Sorry boss, I didn’t have any captors or cameras near that person today, I won’t be able to help you. »

This was disappointing. However, at that moment, he felt some motivation coming back, because he’ll see the boy again tomorrow morning. For the first time in the year, he was looking forward. 

The next day, he didn’t even bother to jog and simple walked toward Peter’s spot. Just like he hoped, the kid was sitting there, in the same position as the last times. The time he was wearing ripped light blue jeans and a black sweater. 

As Tony came to sit next to him, Peter turned his head and smiled his dopey grin. It was endearing and made the man’s heart beat, fueling his tired mind. However, he wasn’t expecting the kid to hand him out a whole, freshly rolled joint. Tony reached for it, caressing Peter’s fingers while taking it and made his most charming smile. At that, the boy blushed lightly and let out a cute giggle. They were having a moment. Tony didn’t have a moment with anyone but Pepper in his life and he knew at that moment he was doomed. 

As Tony put the joint in his mouth, Peter extended his hand to light him up. The kid had his own, probably his second this morning, that he lit up just after Tony. 

Once again, they sat in silence and enjoyed the sweet, fresh weather, with the wind embracing them. Everything went the same way; they finished, Peter stood up, helped Tony up, they held each other’s hand longer than necessary and exchanged goodbyes before going back to their respective places.

When he got back, Pepper was home, disappointment written on her face. 

« Your appointment is in two hours, I’m driving you there… Are you high again? What happening to you suddenly? I can understand the insults, but this? It doesn’t make any sense. » Pepper verbalized what had been clearly boiling inside her for days.

« I don’t know, I think I’m getting better and the weed helps? » Tony suggested.

« What happened to us Tony? Ever since the snap, or war, whatever you went through a year ago, you’re not the same. I did everything I could to make this relationship work, but it doesn’t, does it? » She asked. 

« You can’t understand, because you have no memory. We erased everything from people’s mind so I wouldn’t affect the society, I already told you. Even I don’t remember everything. » 

Tony was having troubles concentrating and, really, caring about this conversation. 

«Then why don’t you explain to me what you went through. I could try to understand, don’t you think? We’re having a baby together Tony, we’re married. We finally have everything we ever wanted; a family, peace, security. » 

Pepper was crying, distress written all over her face, while Tony didn’t feel anything. Maybe it was the smoke, maybe it was the apathy that ate him for months already, but the sight of his crying wife didn’t affect him. It annoyed him more than anything. 

« Oh come on, you don’t care about this relationship anymore, you’re two weeks away from fucking Happy. » He spat. 

« What? » she let out, obviously pissed off.

« Don’t you think I haven’t noticed? You spend so much time with him these days, always talk about him. It’s alright, I’m not mad » 

« Are you serious ? I don’t know if I should be more furious because you think I might cheat on you or because you don’t even care? Maybe it’s you who’s cheating on me, I’ve heard the cheaters were the ones always afraid their partner would cheat. » 

Pepper was trembling out of rage, glaring at Tony, who still wasn’t concern by how offended she was. Then, all of sudden, she was falling on the ground, hands clenching her back and letting out terrible screams. 

Tony was on the ground in seconds next to her, checking for any signs of bleeding or external injury and asking Friday to send an ambulance immediately. 

« Hey, hey, Pep, what’s wrong? » 

The woman couldn’t respond because she was moaning and letting out yelps of pain while Tony was caressing her hair, at loss. 

« Friday, can you scan her real quick and locate where the pain comes from? » 

« The pain seems to be located in the uterus area. I can sense heavy contractions. » Friday stated. 

Cold sweat ran down Tony’s spine. 

“Is this normal at this stage of the pregnancy?” Tony yelled at Friday.

“No Sir, but the ambulance is here, I’m letting the paramedics right in.”

Tony was trembling all over as he gently caressed Pepper’s hair, as she kept on moaning in pain on the floor, still clutching her stomach. Several persons came inside and hauled up Pepper, asking questions that the man could hardly understand let alone answer. He was in a haze with his mind totally shut down. It was terrifying and some painful repressed memories from the war were just trying to spring up in his mind. A small redhead girl gently helped him to his feet and helped him into the ambulance along with Pepper, who was laid down, pain written all over her face, with a mask over her mouth and nose.

“Please tell me she is going to be all right, please, please.” Tony kept repeating to the medics around him.

As they got into the hospital, Tony was left alone to wait while they took care of his wife. Cold sweat was still running down his spine as he waited. It felt like hours, sitting on his cold chair, unable to do anything because his mind was screaming that he lost his baby, that everything he ever wanted was gone.

When he saw the face of the doctor who came out of the room Pepper was in, Tony started to silently cry, small tears running down his cheeks.

“I’m so sorry Mr. Stark but… you wife just miscarried. At 46, it happens to half the pregnancies. You can still try, it probably would work, but it might take several tries.” The doctor announced.

“Can I see her?” Tony simply asked.

The doctor indicated the room behind him and went away.  The man was left alone in the hospital corridor, trying to muster up the courage to get inside his wife’s room. His heart was in his throat, he was ready to throw up as he entered inside of the room. It was as cold, white and sanitized as he expected. Pepper was lying there, in the middle of the room on a bed, her head on the side. She was staring through the window and Tony couldn’t see her face but he knew she was crying.

Tony approached her bed and took her hand in his. She didn’t move, didn’t flinch. A feeling of fateful dread came upon the man when she spoke.

“I won’t be able to do that again. I’m sorry.” She whispered.

“Don’t be sorry, you have nothing to be sorry about. It’s not your fault and I… I understand.”

That made her head turn to look up at him.

“I didn’t think you wouldn’t fight.”

“This is painful for me, I really wanted that baby, but I’m pretty sure I can’t even start to comprehend what you must feel right now.”

New tears formed in Pepper’s eyes and Tony could only bring her close to him into a hug. It was meant to say, everything is going to be alright.

After two hours spend comforting his wife, Tony went back to his home, emotionally and physically exhausted. For the first time in years, he was contemplating the idea of taking a bath. However, his free time was short lived when he noticed strange sitting in his living room.

“What the fuck are you doing at my place, without a call or hell, an invitation?” Tony mumbled.

Strange just raised an eyebrow, taking Tony’s state in.

“It seems like this is a very bad timing. I’ll come by in a few days.” Stephen declared, ready to open a gate with his fingers up.

“No, no, if you came in it’s because you had something important to say.” Tony said with a sigh. “Shoot”

“If you insist… As you’ve been hearing from your monitoring, I’ve been trying to destroy the time stone, or at least a part of it. However, any attempt of mine, caused serious damage on the modifications you made in our reality. Of course, nothing like people getting back into the soul stone, this part is forever done I think, but more subtle changes.” The Doctor explained.

“What? What are you talking about? Changes that I made? People in a stone?”

Tony was already on the edge after the loss of his child, but now he was getting hysterical because he didn’t understand a damn thing. It was unnerving.

Strange was frowning and examining his face, probably trying to make sure Stark wasn’t fucking with him.

“You don’t remember? I thought that as you were the one to carry the gauntlet, you’d be able to remember… maybe you wanted to forget like everyone else?” Strange mumbled to himself.

“Okay, let me get a beer and then you will explain everything.”

“No, it’s better if I don’t.” Strange said before disappearing in a magic circle. 

Tony just stared at the space Strange was a few seconds ago. In another life he would have taken his suit or his jet and tracked down the wizard, but he was too tired for this. So he went to get himself a beer and threw himself on the couch. There was nothing he could do to protect his own child, he might even had been the cause of his death, because of his fighting with Pepper. It was too hard to handle. If he wasn’t depressed before, he most certainly was now; his baby died, he didn’t love his wife anymore and she probably didn’t either, his old team mates avoided him like the plague for some reason he didn’t remember. The one thing that made him happy came up in his mind; the boy, Peter. The man took out his phone and sent a quick message to Happy “get me some weed, rolling paper and cigarettes. Maybe a thingy to roll too.”

“Are you outta your mind?” was the reply.

“Lost the baby, need to get high.”

“I’m on my way.”

Tony threw his head back and wondered, why he had to suffer all his life. Looking back, not only these last years had been horrible, only marked by a few moments of happiness brought by his ex-friends/co-workers and his research, but his whole life had been miserably. He thought that the baby might change that and bring some happiness in his life, a lasting one. Maybe it was karma for his youthful years, before the death of his parents. Maybe it was for being a rich asshole his whole life.

His course of thoughts was interrupted by Happy, coming in, sorrow radiating from him.

“Hey Tony, I’ve got what you asked for. Took the best I could find. Hope I’ll help.” Happy said as he handed Tony a paper bag.

“Thanks Happy…”

 “Yes.”

Happy left when he understood that Tony wouldn’t talk to him anymore as he was too occupied with the drugs.

Tony did his best to roll something good, so he could present it to Peter, without being mocked, especially about his age.

Sleep strangely came fast, when he didn’t expect to sleep at all. 

As always, he was woken up at 6 am by Friday, went to put on workout clothes and the joint inside of his sweater’s pocket. As the day before, he went to Peter’s spot. As the day before, the kid was sitting there, watching the horizon and leaving white smoke out of his mouth.

Tony sat down next to him, close. The boy turned his head, as usual and greeted him with a lazy smile. Peter didn’t put his hood today and his messy curls were gently moved by the wind. Once again, he handed out to Tony his own smoke and turned back toward the ocean without a word. It was exactly what the man needed after what happened the day before. His mind was numb, trying to cling to anything to stay afloat and not sink into dark dangerous thoughts. The scenery and the company were enough to help him relax slightly. However, after two puffs, Tony’s mind was drifting back to Strange’s words: he had been the one to carry the gauntlet. Also, according to the wizard, he made some changes to the reality but didn’t remember a damn thing. It didn’t sound like him at all, so he was missing an important information here.

The smoke was finished way too quickly for his taste when Peter went up to his feet and extended his hand to help Tony up. As he got up to his feet, he reached inside of his sweater’s pocket and handed out the joint he prepared for Peter. The look of surprise on the kid’s face was worth the struggle. It morphed into a pleased smile.

“Totally gonna enjoy that bad boy after school, thanks man.”

Peter waved at Tony and went his way, leaving the man alone, with his heart beating fast. The kid hadn’t noticed the number written on the thin white paper. Tony hopped that he’d notice it before lightening it up.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, Pepper was still under observation at the hospital and Tony was pacing, restless in the mansion, anxiously replaying the loss of his child and Strange’s words inside of his head. Friday kept asking him to eat but he didn’t.

Finally, around 9 pm, a message from an unknown number was announced by Friday. Tony took out his phone and read the text. 

 “Hey, just saw your number before lightening up the thing. Nice. Didn’t take you for the shy type. - Peter”

Tony chuckled. It had been so long since the last time he actually flirted with someone, especially by text. However, he felt like himself again as he typed back a message to Peter. It was relieving, to concentrate on something so mundane, so normal.

“It caught your attention, didn’t it?” he responded, feeling his usual cockiness coming back.

“You already had my attention. I don’t just share with anybody”

“Thanks again for that I needed it.”

“No probs man. It was my pleasure. But hell, yours is way better, it’s crazy, I’m flying”

It made the man smile at his phone; the kid’s aura of freshness and peace was rubbing off on him, even through the phone.

“Good night & see you tomorrow” came before Tony could answer.


	4. In motion

However, tomorrow never came, or at least, hell broke loose during the night. Pepper sent a text during saying she’d be back in the morning and they had to talk seriously. Tony also received an alert from Friday saying that Wanda was AWOL since her brother was diagnosed with cancer the day before, leaving Carol alone against the shapeshifting aliens trying to come on earth. Thor wasn’t answering either, gone on another planet with Loki. Friday mentioned the fact that Fury might call him if it any more heroes keep disappearing. 

At his usual wake-up time, Tony was still awake, trying to gather as much information as he could about the threats. Pepper arrived at his fifth cup of coffee. Her eyes were red, as he whole face; she clearly had been crying for some time. Guilt pooled in Tony’s stomach because he quickly distracted himself from the death of his unborn child. It had been easier than he thought, to deal with the death of something he had wanted this much.

Pepper came to sit next to him in the kitchen. It seemed like all life had been sucked out of her; she was just a shell.

At the same time he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, it was a message from Peter.

“Sorry man won’t be there this morning, my uncle isn't feeling well”

“Wasn’t going to come either, good luck with your uncle"

The air around them was thick, they didn't dare look at each other or talk. Tony felt his heart accelarating and every breath got harder. She was the one to break the silence. 

«I think I need some time with my parents, but I know you’re not feeling well, probably depressed…”

Tony stopped her with a raised hand.

“Go. We both need some time to think about the future. I’ll be fine don’t worry. I’ll invite friends over, try to cheer myself up.”

“I’m worried about your new habit.” Pepper said with a sigh.

“What habit? Oh the weed? It’s legal now around here. Plus it was more social pressure from my new friend than anything else.”

“A new friend? Who is it?”

“A guy who smoke every day not far from the house by the beach.” Tony declared, with a small smile.

“I haven’t seen you this excited about anything for ages Tony, it’s great.”

Pepper seemed relieved, with a tired smile playing on her lips.

“Yeah” He breathed out, noticing for the first time that the thought of Peter made him happy.

It’s been years since he was drawn to someone like this, ever since Steve probably. Usually he’s pretty reserved about other people and relationships in general, but this kid had something on him. It was both thrilling and scary, especially since he didn’t feel a single emotion for probably a year. Somehow, it made him sad for Pepper. His wife had always been there by his side, but he just couldn’t bring himself to love her as she deserved. Still, he had so much tenderness for her; he couldn’t let her go, even if he wasn’t happy.

“Well, I guess I’ll be going then. I’ll call you when I arrive…”

Pepper pressed a kiss to his cheek and slowly went up to their bedroom, to probably do her luggage.

Tony was left alone, once again, however this time he noticed how tired he was after not sleeping for so many hours. To avoid Pepper, Tony went into one of the guest bedrooms to lie down. The room was dark and the sheets smelled clean, it was all the man needed to fall asleep, still dressed on the comforter.

He woke up a few hours later, a little disoriented. The first thing he did was to check his phone, to see if Pepper was already at her parent’s place, but the only notification he found was a text from Peter.

“Hey, I’m feeling a little down, wanna hang out and get high?”

Tony smiled because the boy thought of him to hang out.

“Yeah, come to my place whenever, it’s the obnoxious mansion near your usual spot.”

The answer came mere seconds later.

“No way? I’m totally coming over.”

“Hey Friday, how long will it take for Peter to come by my place?” Tony asked, suddenly worried with the fact he didn’t take a shower and didn’t shave.

“About thirty minutes sir.”

Tony quickly got out of his bed and went into the nearest shower, not caring about his usual qualm about his safe space. He had to be quick and effective, to look his best in front of the kid. Really, he didn’t know why he wanted to impress the other, but he had to do it.

When Friday announced Peter’s arrival, Tony looked like before Thanos happened, his charming playboy self, not the shadow of himself that he’d been for the last months.

This time the kid didn’t seem high, his eyes were more focused. His whole demeanor was different; he seemed livelier, he had different expressions when he looked around him, probably amazed by the luxe Tony lived in. It was endearing to Tony.

“Hey Peter, welcome to my humble home.” Tony said with a grin, all of his preoccupations and problems pushed back in a tiny corner of his mind.

“Humble, huh?”

“Are you old enough to drink alcohol?”

“Yeah totally am.” Peter replied with an innocent smile.

Tony rolled his eyes because he knew the kid was most likely lying to him, but he was too cute to have anything refused.

“You’re getting one light beer and nothing more.”

“Yes sir, and a few smokes.”

The man went to get them some beers from the fridge, handed one to Peter and led the kid on the balcony with a hand lightly placed on his lower back. As they sat down next to each other on luxurious chairs in the pale evening light, facing once again the ocean, Tony observed the boy, he was still wearing a sweater, light blue jeans that clung to his thin but muscled frame and white sneakers. He looked like any other college student but Tony was inexplicably drawn to him. Maybe it was the sweet innocent face with those red sinful lips, he thought. 

Peter turned to look back at Tony with a small smile.

“Something's on my face?”

“No, it’s just pretty.” Tony stopped himself. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to”

It’s been a long time since his mouth spoke faster than his mind. It probably was all the weed. Peter didn’t seem phased out by his words, because he kept on smiling as he took out a joint from his hoodie’s central pocket.

“And I thought it was just a friendly invitation…” Peter teased as he light up his smoke.

“It was. It still is.” Tony held up his left hand. “Look married.”

“You wouldn’t be the first married man to hit on me.”

Tony could understand why, when the boy threw his head back to exhale his first puff. His throat looked soft and inviting, and Tony was lost. Peter turned his head back to look at him with a little laugh.

“Oh come on, I was kidding, I didn’t accuse you of anything.”

The cheekiness of the kid made the man smile back at him. Before Peter could react, Tony snatched the joint from his fingers and brought it to his mouth.

“Hey! You’re stealing from a poor student. Damn you rich people.” Peter commented with a sigh.

“I’m trying to get you rid of this stuff before giving you out some of mine, but if you prefer smoking this…”

“No, no, by all means, please finish.” Peter replied with a bright smile.

“That’s what I thought."

« So, you’re Tony Stark huh? » Peter asked off-handly.

“I was wondering when you’d bring that up. Usually people are all over me asking for money or Stark Tech or to be fucked by the great Tony Stark or just being star stuck.”

Peter snorted at that.

“To be honest I only caught who you were when you told me your name. I was pretty high those first times we met. Then it clicked. You’re a lot less in the Medias these days.”

“Yeah, the wife wanted a calm and peaceful life far away from the Avengers and everything.” Tony sighed before taking a long drag that burned his throat. “What about you? Who are you? I wanted to ask Friday but I didn’t really had the time.”

“Who’s Friday?”

“My AI; personal assistant, house operator, friend.”

“Nice, does it hear us right now?” 

« I was programmed as ‘she’ and prefer that to ‘it’ Mr. Parker and, indeed, I hear and monitor everything in this house” She replied.

Peter gasped at that, looking for the speakers or wherever the sound was coming from.

“This is SICK. You’re sassy as hell miss Friday. Nice to meet you!”

“My pleasure. But please, call me Friday.”

The level of excitation the boy was showing made Tony smile, harder than he had in months. While Peter talked to Friday, Tony observed him, or rather admired he youth and happiness that was radiating from the kid. It was rubbing off on the man.

“So may I have some of your mind blowing stuff?” Peter asked with a sheepish smile.

Tony put aside the lightened up joint and reached for another one he made the other day, with the weed Happy bought him to light it up. With a raised brow and a smug look, he took a long drag from it. The kid gasped before moving, way too quickly for Tony to react as the other sat astride of him. As the smoke escaped his mouth, Peter bend to catch it directly from its source. Tony stared at the boy, at his dark, blown pupils and flushed cheeks.

“Mmmh even better like this.” Peter commented before plucking to joint his fingers and taking another drag.

Once again, Peter bend to push his open mouth against Tony’s, blowing the smoke inside. This time, the man felt the boy’s hardness against his stomach and almost chocked with the smoke.

“Sorry, I always get horny with weed.” Peter apologized before returning to his own chair with an embarrassed smile.

“Nice technique to stole other people’s goods.” Tony commented, trying not to sound as perturbed as he was. “So, you’re going to Stanford kid?”

“Yup, digital journalism course. I started last year and I love it so far. It’s funny because when I was in high-school I really wanted to get into MIT and do sciences stuff, you inspired me a lot by the way.” Peter said, looking straight into Tony’s eyes with a shy smile.

However, the moment was broken when the boy’s phone rang and he picked it up.

“Hey Aunt May… Why are you crying? Is everything all right? What about Uncle Ben ?”

The boy sounded panicked, dropping the smoke on the ground. He was on his feet a few seconds, his face was place, drained of all of his blood.

“S-something happened to my Uncle but my aunt is too upset to say in by the phone.” Tears started to roll on his cheeks.

“Where are they? I can give you a car to get there?” Tony proposed, feeling extremely worried for the boy.

“They’re in New York…”

“Then let’s get to my jet. FRIDAY, prepare us a car for the airport”

Tony caught Peter’s hand, as the kid was stuck in place instead of doing anything, to get him in front of the house.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, this is all I've got for now, but I'm working on it.
> 
> Tell me what you think, please? :)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay this isn't the most exciting fic ever, but I needed to get it out of my head.
> 
> If you want to chat, I'm on tumblr : https://starker-honeymoon.tumblr.com/ :)


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